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Never is a long time

04/01/13 09:05 AMUpdated 10/07/13 06:18 PM

Republican strategist Ed Gillespie

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On Fox News yesterday, Chris Wallace reminded Republican strategist and former RNC Chief Ed Gillespie that the pendulum is swinging against his party when it comes to marriage equality. Gillespie replied, “I don’t see the Republican Party or most Republicans, obviously, changing in terms of believing that marriage is between one man and one woman.”

The host pressed further, asking, “But looking at the polls, and, particularly, looking at where younger people are going, would you have any problems in 2016, with a Republican Party platform saying that marriage is between a man and a woman?” Gillespie noted that the platform currently calls for a federal constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality, and going forward, “there may be a debate about that.”

I suppose this is what qualifies as social progress for today’s GOP.

But before the discussion moved on Gillespie added this:

“I don’t think you would ever see the Republican Party platform saying we are in favor of same sex marriage.”

Never? Gillespie may well be right, but I’d remind the Republican establishment that forever is a long time. Republicans can resist the American mainstream for now, if they intend to keep this up indefinitely, they’re asking for trouble.

On the flip side, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) appeared on “Meet the Press,” and was asked, “Could you support a Republican presidential candidate someday who supported same-sex marriage?”

The senator replied, “Oh, I think that’s inevitable. There will be one, and that I think he’ll receive Republican support, or she will. So I think that yes, that the answer is yes.”

Maybe he should chat with Ed Gillespie about what the party’s future holds.